


Fated Love

by whitts98



Series: Fated Love [1]
Category: Fate: The Winx Saga (TV), Winx Club
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:20:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29285907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitts98/pseuds/whitts98
Summary: What if Bloom found out her older sister is none other than Farah Dowling's presumed dead goddaughter and Saul Silva's old flame. When Bloom finds out she is still alive and is able to communicate with her, will Saul be able to bring the woman he loves home?
Relationships: Saul Silva/Reader
Series: Fated Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150700
Comments: 53
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters from Fate: The Winx Saga. Some of the spells/ story line and time line will be quite different to the television series, but I hope you enjoy and please leave feedback :)

“It’s alright Bloom, calm down”. 

“Stop freaking out, you’re okay. You’re safe in the dorm.” 

“Stop crowding her Terra- give her some space” 

Voices swirled around in Bloom’s ears, but she couldn’t see where they were coming from, her eyes stung with the harsh drops of sweat falling from her forehead. Shuddering a deep breath, she swiped her arm over her face, squinting at the torch light that shone in her face, the dim light revealing the worried faces of her suite mates standing over her. 

“Are you okay Bloom?” Aisha knelt next to her, placing a comforting arm on her back. 

“Yeah…” Bloom muttered, taking another shuddering breath. “It was just a lot this time…I-“ 

“Great, well if you’re finished having another freak out, some of us would like to return to bed and go back to sleep without another of your little ‘wake up calls’ Came Stella’s catty response. She shoved her way out of the room, the others yawning and shuffling out as well until it was just Aisha left. 

“Come on”, she whispered, pulling Bloom to her feet. In answer to Bloom’s still dazed expression, she sighed and rolled her eyes slightly. “You fell out of bed this time, you were really thrashing about. You made quite a bang- it’s what brought everyone in.” 

Bloom groaned quietly, rubbing her hands over her face. “Great, so everyone will hate me again in the morning.” 

“No-one hates you Bloom…It’s just we’re all really tired, you’ve been having these nightmares a lot of late.” 

Bloom pulled the covers back, trying to return her crumpled sheets to somewhat of a presentable state. “I’m sorry Aisha- believe me if I could do anything about it, I would.” 

Aisha grimaced sympathetically. “The old woman again?” 

Bloom was about to agree when she paused and thought carefully. “No…No there was something else this time. Or someone else I should say…A little girl a few years older than me, she had the same hair as me and she was running in a field….” 

Aisha frowned. “Was she with the old woman you saw before?” 

“No.” Said Bloom, “She was playing, dancing around in this field of flowers…It’s so weird, I know I’ve never seen her before, but she felt so familiar, that place too…” 

“Maybe-“ Aisha began, but was cut off by the slam of Stella’s door. 

“Could you keep it down?” She all but shouted through the walls. 

Whispering an apology again, Bloom lay down and watched as the room plunged into darkness once more, when Aisha turned off the light. But she didn’t close her eyes, she knew that there was no way she would be able to sleep tonight- not when there was so many questions burning in her mind. 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Farah Dowling was having a bad morning. She had multiple Burnt Ones to deal with, the threat was growing larger every day as well as just receiving news that Queen Luna would be visiting later in the week. Oh and she was having to deal with two sheepish looking fairy’s standing in front of her, both of them having fallen asleep in the class that she taught. Farah pinched her nose and rubbed at her head, her headache developing rather rapidly for a Tuesday morning. 

“Do either of you wish to explain to me what was so boring about my lesson, that you were unable to keep your eyes open?” She asked dryly, casting a wary eye over the girls. 

“It’s not my fault!” The blonde girl cried out, almost stamping her foot in frustration. 

Ms Dowling just raised an eyebrow and sighed slightly. “Would you care to elaborate Stella?” 

“I’m exhausted, because someone-“ she turned to glare at her companion, “keeps us all awake due to her inability to sleep quietly!” 

“I keep having nightmares,” Bloom said quietly, refusing to make eye contact with the headmistress. She shuffled her foot against the wooden floorboards and generally looked so miserable that Farah couldn’t quite keep the same level of sternness in her tone. 

“Alright Bloom, why don’t you and I sit down and have a chat. Stella- you’re dismissed. You are excused from lessons for the rest of the day- go and catch up on your sleep…and please remember to retain some compassion for your friends.” 

Stella blushed a deep red and muttered her apologies, heading quickly out of the door. As she left, Bloom looked up slightly and sighed. “She hates me.” 

“No she doesn’t,” Farah smiled softly. “She’s just a little sleep deprived.” Guiding Bloom over to the seat by her desk, she took out a tea pot and a biscuit tin. “Now, tell me all about it- how bad are they becoming?” 

Taking a biscuit, Bloom launched into detailed account of her last week of dreams involving the older woman and the sense of dread she got with each one. She started to recount her latest one when she suddenly stopped, noticing the gilded frame set upon the headmistresses desk. 

“Actually…the girl that I saw, she looked exactly like the girl in that photo.” Not seeing the Headmistresses shocked expression, Bloom gently reached across the desk to turn the photograph fully towards her. She had seen it from the corner of her eye as she had been explaining, and seeing up close confirmed her initial thoughts.   
Thumbing her fingers across the frame, she frowned up at the headmistress. “Why am I seeing this girl in my dreams?” 

Farah didn’t know how to respond. Trying to keep her shock from displaying on her face, she took great pains to smooth her brow and spoke slowly to the red-haired girl in front of her. “Bloom, you’re tired…You might think this is someone from your dream but-“ 

“It is!” Bloom cried, her initial exhaustion gone. Energy coursed through her at the prospect of answers. “I saw her in my dreams!” 

“Bloom, it cannot possibly be-“ 

“I saw her Ms Dowling! She was dancing in a field of flowers. Who is she?” 

Farah sighed, knowing that the child in front of her would not calm down until she was met with some more information. She sighed again as she reached out to turn the photograph back towards her, smiling slightly when she looked at the happy face of the child in the picture. A girl of 7 or 8 grinning as she sat on the trunk of an old tree in the forest behind Alfea. 

“She is…was- my goddaughter.” She said softly, her fingertips lightly touching the girls face. Lost for a moment in a sea of memories that engulfed her, she did not see Bloom’s puzzled face. Usually looking at the portraits of the girl were too painful, and over the years the collection of portraits that had once littered her office had dwindled down to the one solitary picture on her desk. It somehow hurt less than the others of her as an older girl. Sometimes, Farah could pretend that nothing would happen and that happy bright eight year old would forever remain that way. 

Bloom watched as her Headmistresses eyes started to mist over, and she couldn’t help but reach out and lightly touch her sleeve. “Was?” 

Sniffing, Farah collected her thoughts and immediately resumed her calm expression. “She passed a few years ago.” 

Deflated, Bloom sat back down in her chair with a slump. “Then why am I seeing her?” 

“I don’t know Bloom, unless….” Farah turned to the window, her mind racing. “It could be-“ 

“Could be what?” 

The usually unruffled Headmistress turned to Bloom once more, the edges of her mouth turned downward in a frown. Striding forward, she yanked the door open and turned to Aisha sitting at the desk. “Aisha, please send word to Mr Silva, I need to speak with him at once.” 

Aisha nodded, and met the eyes of Bloom standing in the doorway looking completely baffled. “Of course Headmistress.” 

Farah nodded as if satisfied and made her way back to the room before turning back abruptly, ignoring Bloom’s influx of questions. “Oh and Aisha, tell Mr Silva to bring with him some of Y/N’s belongings. It’s important.


	2. Chapter 2

Saul Silva stood in the grounds of Alfea, a gentle wind blowing against his face as he watched his recruits intently. The air was filled with the pungent stench of sweat and the harsh cracks of training sticks hitting each other. 

“Footwork boys!” He shouted, his eyes never leaving the sight of his two best students as they sparred. “Thats it!” 

So absorbed was he in the match, he barely registered the fairy that had jogged up beside him, her breath coming out in short gasps. 

“Mr Silva.” 

“One sec Love.” Saul said, his attention still completely upon the sparring. He paced the grass, ignoring as the fairy stalked after him. “Riven! Focus on your weapon! Treat it as an extension of your ar-“ Shaking his head as he watched the dark haired boy go sprawling after a well landed manoeuvre by Sky, the Headmaster jumped up onto the landing and clapped Sky on the back. “Well done lad.” 

Sky reached down to help his friend up, the two boys then stood still listening as Silva launched into a detailed list of improvements to work towards. 

“Mr Silva.” Aisha tried again, frowning in annoyance at the scene before her. 

“Just a minute.” Saul called back, still animatedly discussing technique with his students. 

“Mr Silva!” Aisha practically yelled a few minutes later, her patience at being brushed aside finally reaching its limit. “Ms Dowling needs you ASAP. “ 

Glancing back to the narrowed eyes almost glaring at him, Saul took in the sight of the rather pissed off looking fairy for the first time. “Alright calm down, I’m going.” 

Nodding at the boys, he tossed the stick to Sky. “Keep drilling the first years.” 

Sky nodded in return, pulling Riven with him as he began to bark out orders to the sparring partners around the field. 

Sniffing, Saul jumped down and made his way back to Aisha, who at that point had decided that the Headmaster was an ass and was displaying this by giving him the biggest withering look she could muster, her arms crossed over her chest for good measure. 

Saul grabbed his bag and nodded at Aisha as he began his walk back to the school. It was this nonchalent attitude that was the last nail in the coffin for Aisha, who preferred her teachers to behave as actual proper members of society. So she had no qualms about cattily calling after him in an attempt to rile him up. “She wanted you there like 5 minutes ago!” Saul just nodded and didn’t turn around, irritating her further. “Oh and bring Y/N’s stuff!” 

At these words, she couldn’t have predicted the response they would elicit, and she only felt slightly guilty about it later, for the Headteacher in front of her had stilled as if he had been shot. He slowly turned around, his face stricken and as he set his gaze on Aisha, she suddenly felt a chill. 

“What. Did. You. Just. Say.” Saul managed to grit out, feeling as though he were speaking with a mouth full of ground glass. It was as if he had just been punched in the stomach and had all the wind knocked out of him. 

“Dowling said…” Aisha trailed off, dropping her defensive stance as she stared at the desperate looking man. 

“Dowling said…Y/N?” Saul whispered. 

As Aisha nodded, Saul rubbed a hand over his face, his shock still evident. A whistle in the distance kicked him back into action though, and with no further word to Aisha, he started to jog across the lawn towards the staff quarters. 

Puzzled Aisha couldn’t formulate a proper answer when moments later Riven stalked up to her and asked what she had said to put the wind up his teacher like that. She could only watch as the figure retreated further into the distance before she turned around and started to walk back the way she had come. 

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-------------------------------------------------------

At the same time as Sky stepped in to stop two first years from killing each other, Saul was knelt on the floor of his room, unable to look away from the box in front of his knees, yet unable to open it. The box was covered with a thick layer of dust, the kind that formulates from being left under a bed for almost four years. It could have formulated for another four for all that Saul cared. He physically couldn’t open it. Couldn’t bear to look upon the things that had once belonged to you. Had once had a place in this room. He couldn’t look at the collection of wind chimes that you had cluttered the place with, or the soft black jacket he had bought you and that you insisted upon wearing everywhere. He couldn’t look at the fairy lights that you had strung about the place in an attempt to lighten the room up for him. He couldn’t look upon these things, because picturing them, picturing you would just break his heart all over again. 

No. He wouldn’t look, he decided. He had spent his time mourning and he had locked all of the pain out of his heart. In the four years since, he had removed all traces of you from the room, from his life and he wouldn’t invite that pain back into his world. 

Seizing it with a determined grasp, he jumped to his feet, striding out of the door with the unopened box under his arm. He had no idea why Farah wanted to see your belongings now after all this time, but he wouldn’t get involved. He would simply deposit it with her and return to training, your face firmly ignored in his mind. 

But try as he might, flashes of you were flickering before him as he strode through the school. He saw you on the archway, carefully tip toeing as if you were a trapeze artist. He heard your laugh as the breeze rustled around him. He almost felt your hands wrap around his eyes as he strode past your old meeting spot, remembering the way you had laughed so gleefully when he pretended he didn’t know you were there.   
But thinking of those memories physically cut him in two. 

Saul shook his head as he passed the fountain, speeding up so he could get rid of the box and leave hoping he could remove all thoughts of you once he was no longer holding your things. 

Mercifully he arrived at Farah’s office in minutes, not stopping to knock or wait to be let in. Striding into her office he started to splutter out questions, before he realised that Farah wasn’t alone. 

At his sudden entrance, Bloom had jerked upright, her biscuit forgotten on its way to her mouth. Saul took in her wide eyes and Farah’s somewhat taken aback expression and realised that barging in hadn’t been such a bright idea. 

“Sorry…I’ll come back later.” He went to drop the box on the table by the door but was stopped by Farah. 

“No, please Saul come in and sit down with us.”

Farah recognised the unanswered questions shining in his eyes and simply held out her hand, motioning that all would be revealed in time. 

Grunting, Saul took a seat next to Bloom, rather uncomfortable with sitting facing Farah’s desk as if he were a student. 

“I’m assuming you are wondering why I brought you in here Saul,” Farah began, leaning forward across the desk. “It has come to my attention that Bloom here may be experiencing memories of people from before she was taken to the first world.” 

Saul took this information as to having no real relevance to his situation and shot her a bemused look. He didn’t speak though and motioned for her to continue. 

“Bloom last night experienced a memory of someone we were both fond of…I want to perform a spell that will determine if she had actually met that person prior to her leaving this world.” 

“You’re joking.” Saul scoffed. 

“I can assure you, I am not.” Farah countered. 

“Um guys? I’m still not exactly sure what’s going on?” Bloom said, playing with the strands of her hair. 

“Neither am I.” Saul muttered. 

“I asked you to bring Y/N’s things Saul, because I have reason to believe that Bloom recalled meeting her in her dreams last night. I want to perform a spell to determine if I’m right.” Farah replied curtly. She softened slightly when she looked at the man opposite her. He looked pale, sickly even and couldn’t meet her gaze. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think that there’s a good chance.” She said softly. “The last thing I want to do is cause you pain.” 

“ Who was she?” Bloom asked quietly, looking from left to right at the two adults in the room questioningly. Though they both revealed nothing.   
Farah slipped quietly from her desk to bring the box Saul had abandoned by the front door over to them all. She said nothing as she wiped away the dust that still clung to the lid and gently opened it to reveal a jumble of clothes, knick knacks and a necklace that Bloom thought was rather beautiful. 

Slowly Farah placed each item on the desk almost reverently. Saul gulped as he looked across at the items lined up, quickly glancing away to blink back the hot burning sensation of tears springing to his eyes.

Farah reached across the table once more to grasp Bloom’s hand in hers and sweep it over the things. Her eyes began to glow as she started to perform the spell, ignoring Bloom’s incessant questions that had begun again. 

In frustration, Bloom turned once more to the Headmaster sitting so forlornly beside her. “Who was she to you?” She demanded as around them the room began to glow with a white light. 

Replying so quietly, Bloom barely heard him Saul turned back to gaze upon the objects. 

“She was the love of my life.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bloom comes face to face with her older sister for the first time, and has to face an old enemy.

“Are you ready Bloom?” Dowling asked, her eyes aglow with the power of the spell she was conducting. She still held Bloom’s hands in hers, but not as tightly as before. She was giving her a chance, one last opportunity to back out before they passed the point of no return. 

Bloom was uncertain, her knowledge of magic still being limited despite her best efforts to study up on all that she could. On the other hand, she desperately wanted answers and Dowling was giving her the opportunity to learn something, anything about her past. 

Bloom turned to look at Mr Silva next to her, his face scrunched up in the same painful expression it had been since he had last spoken. Feeling desperately sorry for him, Bloom pretended that she didn’t see the stray tear that was sliding down his cheek.   
She took a deep shuddering breath and nodded, squeezing the headmistresses hands firmly. “Yes.” 

Nodding, Farah began to guide Bloom’s hands once more over the objects, whispering something that sounded strange to Bloom’s ears. As she chanted, the room grew brighter and brighter, the light starting to hurt Bloom’s eyes. Squinting in the white light surrounding her, Bloom tried to focus on the words that her Headmistress was repeating, but found that as the light grew, the sounds grew fainter and fainter. She squeezed her eyes shut as the harshness of the light became unbearable, likening it to the spell that Stella had performed in the forest to blind the Burned One. 

Even with her eyes screwed shut, the light permeated behind her eyelids, driving a pain to her head that try as she might, Bloom could not ignore. She gasped and gritted her teeth trying to remain still, afraid that her crying out would ruin the spell. So for what felt like hours, Bloom bared the excruciating pain, until suddenly the pressure in her mind dissipated and she dared to open her eyes once more. 

Whatever she was expecting, it was definitely not what she was met with.   
Gone was Farah Dowling’s desk, her office and all of its strange objects. Gone was Farah Dowling for that matter and Mr Silva. Bloom was completely alone, stood in the midst of a strange forest. The morning sun was replaced by the dim light of dusk, and shivering at the cool breeze around her, Bloom wished she had brought a jacket.   
Tall spindly trees flanked her sides and the forest floor crunched loudly under her boots as she took a few tentative steps forward.   
“Hello?” She called uncertainly. “Ms Dowling? Are you there?” 

With no response elicited, Bloom stayed to walk forward, scratching her neck in an attempt to erase the pricking sensation that came with her fear. She walked through a small path between the trees, trailing her fingers on the rough bark as she did so. “Is anyone here?” She shouted, her voice not able to disguise her worry. 

Starting to hyperventilate in the silence, she desperately called her flame, the fire springing easily to her hands as the spell fed off of her fear. Spinning around with the comforting weight of her flames in hand, Bloom started to feel slightly braver. That was until a horrifying screech sounded in the distance and Bloom realised her mistake. Shaking her hands, she tried to extinguish the flames that had drawn the attention of whatever creature was out there in the night, but in her panicked state the flames just kept growing, spitting fireballs from her skin to the ground around her. 

Another roar and the unmistakable sound of tree branches breaking as something hurtled through them caused Bloom to start to run. She sprinted through the tree line, her fire trail streaming behind her.   
Panting, she slid through the forest litter, looking over her shoulder in time to see a tree topple. The crashing became louder and louder, the roars interspaced with snarling and growling as whatever was hunting her gained distance. 

Stumbling into a clearing, Bloom looked desperately around for shelter, or some new path to follow to safety. But seconds later the snarling started to sound from all around her, the trees shaking as the creature circled her from outside of the clearing.   
Curling her hands around herself, Bloom tried to call the flames to form in a shield whilst cursing the fact that she had thought this would be a good idea.   
An almighty roar sounded and Bloom started to say her mental goodbyes to her loved ones as the Burned One crashed through the tree line and into the clearing.   
She squealed as she tripped in her haste to back away from the beast, sending her sprawling amongst the leaves and debris. Instinctively raising her hands to her face to protect herself, she almost missed the warrior entering the arena. 

A figure clad in black sprang forth from behind the trees, immediately colliding with the Burned creature that had been making its way for Bloom. The warrior slashed their sword back and forth driving the creature away from where Bloom crouched, forcing it to back away.   
Unable to look away, Bloom could hardly believe her eyes as the warrior and the Burned one battled through the clearing. The warrior flipped and ducked away from the slashes of the creatures claws, expertly manoeuvring the beast as if it were a mere annoyance. They slashed away at the beast’s hide, unfazed as the monster screamed in agony when the blade hit. Capitalising on the creatures pain as distraction, the warrior dropped the blade, and flung their hands towards the creature, bright blue ice streaming from them to hit the beast centre in the chest. The force of the blast sent the Burned one to its knees, its screams of pain the last thing Bloom heard before mercifully the thing exploded in shards of crystal ice and charcoal throughout the clearing. 

Wide eyed Bloom managed to scramble to her feet, her flames at last diminishing from her palms. “Did you kill it?” She called, eyeing the pile of chawed remains that were strewn across the clearing. 

“Yes.” The warrior spoke clearly. “But there are more coming. Your fire certainly got their attention.” The warrior turned around wiping their blade against the fabric of their trousers and Bloom could see clearly the figure for the first time. Standing before her was a woman, easily recognisable as beautiful despite the smears of ash and dirt that covered her face. Her bright auburn hair was pulled back into a braid and she was older than the photo, but Bloom knew instinctively that this person was Ms Dowling’s goddaughter. 

Y/N stepped over the pile of ash gracefully, and calmly extinguished the fires that littered the clearing with her ice magic. 

“Come on, we have to hurry before the rest of the clan gets here.” Y/N said urgently, motioning for Bloom to follow her through the trees. 

Unable to properly formulate the questions that were swirling around her mind and still too keyed up on adrenaline to argue, Bloom turned and quickly followed after the older girl as she began to dart quickly through the forest, managing to look elegant as she gracefully left across fallen branches and bushes.   
They travelled for several minutes through the forest paths, stopping every now and then to listen in the distance for any roars or snarls.   
When they had put enough distance behind them, Y/N stopped completely, allowing Bloom to pause and catch her breath. Bloom vowed as she stood panting, that upon return to Alfea she would start taking running and fitness in general more seriously. 

“So fire fairy…Who are you and what exactly are you doing her?” Y/N asked, browed furrowed as she looked the younger girl up and down. “You’re not smart enough to be one of Luna’s spies- they at least try not to draw the Burned One’s attention to themselves…So what do you want with me?” 

Bloom frowned, the lack of oxygen to her brain at the moment causing her to reply almost sluggishly. “Ms Dowling sent me.” 

At this, Y/N’s eyes widened comically large. “Aunt Farah?” In a split second her face lit up into a huge grin and. She reached out to grasp Bloom’s arm. “She sent for me! I knew she wouldn’t give up on me, I just-“ 

But Bloom didn’t get to find out what Y/N was going to say, for as soon as her skin had touched the other fairy’s, Bloom found herself engulfed in the blinding light again and was almost immediately transported back to Ms Dowlings office. 

The two adults were standing over her, identical worried expressions plastered over their faces. Dazed, Bloom found herself lying at an odd angle on the floor and gratefully grasped the arm that Mr Silva offered her, too tired to summon the energy to pick herself up properly. 

“Bloom!” Ms Dowling cried, reaching out to dust the soot from her cheeks. “What on earth happened?” 

Shaking her head, Bloom sank into the seat that was offered her, and stared dumbly back at the teachers. “There was a Burned One.” 

At that, Mr Silva groaned and rubbed at his face, his worry replaced with anger. “As if I don’t have enough to worry about, now I have to deal with a spell gone wrong and another Burned One on the loose!” 

“No!” Cried Bloom. “It’s all okay. Y/N killed it.” 

The two teachers swivelled their heads in perfect synchronisation to stare at Bloom dumbfounded. 

“What did you say?” Ms Dowling was the first to recover from the shock. 

“Y/N killed it. She froze the whole thing and then it exploded but we had to run because there were more coming and then she said that you hadn’t given up on her and then-“ 

“Bloom. Stop.” Ms Dowling ordered. “You can’t possibly have fought with my goddaughter, it isn’t possible.” 

“But she was there!” Bloom insisted, looking desperately between the adults. “She saved my life! Y/N is alive!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N goes to investigate a mysterious person in the forest...Who will she find?

Y/N was having the strangest day. She had woken up with the prickly feeling of being watched, had fought three Burned Ones that had been crawling around the forest, oh- and had hallucinated meeting another fairy that knew her aunt. 

“Get it together Y/N” She muttered to herself, kicking a nearby tree stump for good measure. “You’re losing it- dreaming up human company is an even bigger indication of this than talking to yourself.” 

She trudged through the forest, pausing several times to listen out for the beasts that roamed the place before she made it to her tree house. Made shoddily from whatever supplies that she had managed to claim over the years, the wonky structure was the closest thing she could call to a home. Muscles aching from the days activities, she managed to pull herself up through the tree branches, cursing only when a plank dropped unexpectedly to the ground- narrowly missing her. 

“Great- now I have to fix that bloody thing tomorrow.” She seethed to herself. She reached the top quickly, years of swinging through the trees allowing her to almost dance through the branches. Sweeping the small abode for any signs of danger, she allowed herself to relax enough for a quick dinner of berries and the dried meat she had stored from previous weeks, before she settled down for a fitful nights sleep. 

Nightmares plagued her sleep as they did every night. But at first instead of the usual monsters that reared behind her eyelids, there was a painful white light that burned in her mind. The light of course gave way to the usual ugly dreams of her fights with the Burned Ones, but when she woke in the morning, the memory of the blinding light stayed with her. Her eyes burned every time she closed them, and she kept having to blink hard to clear the white sparks that floated across her vision. 

Spending the first part of the morning slowly hammering the wood back into reasonable shape, Y/N was well rested enough to spring into action when the first screech of the Burned Ones made its way to her ears. 

“It’s not even midday yet…” She muttered to herself, grumbling as she collected her sword and swung herself back upright. Abandoning her tools, she started to climb slowly though the tree line, years of travelling the woods allowing her to be silent and unseen.  
Y/N leapt from tree to tree for a quarter of an hour before she heard telltale crashing of a Burned One as it moved through the forest; much closer this time. Sighing, she resigned herself to yet another fight. Keeping herself concealed amongst the trees, Y/N settled in to wait for the Burned One to become visible. 

It didn’t take long at all for it to pass in front of her, well- pass as much as it could before it was savagely pulled back by a tangle of vines that seemed to take a life of their own. The Burned One screamed as it went sinking to the forest floor, it’s limbs restrained by the plants. Quickly the Burned One began to inch backwards as it was tugged by some unseen force. 

Y/N ducked backwards, her body pressed tightly against the trunk of the tree she had climbed. Her breath came in rapid gusts, and not from the exertion of the climb. Someone was in the forest. Someone was in her forest and had taken down a Burned One.  
Puzzling over the situation quickly, she came to the conclusion that either she was hallucinating again or some passer by had wandered by the area and caught the attention of the resident beasts. But that itself was highly unlikely- no one ever came here. Not by accident, and not exactly by choice either- the only visitors she ever received where Luna’s goons every so often to make sure she hadn’t run away or died. And they never really revealed themselves to her, or to the creatures. She would just sometimes glance up from wherever she was and see the flash of Solaria uniform against the foliage. She used to call out to them, beg them to speak with her- but over the years without so much as a smile her way, she had given up and just tended to ignore them whenever they came by. 

But today, here…there was the chance that there was someone there. Someone real. She still wasn’t counting her visit yesterday from the fire fairy; no one real vanished into thin air at the slightest touch. 

Rustling from the direction where the Burned One had been dragged along startled her out of her thoughts. The Burned One was almost completely out of sight, Y/N could only just see it as it struggled against its bonds. Shaking her head, she made her decision and started to dart through the trees crashing through the branches not giving any care as to the sounds she was making. 

She quickly caught up with the creature and skipped ahead following the tendrils of plant life as they swarmed back to the clearing she had fought in yesterday. But this time she didn’t go running through the land, for the sight in front of her shocked her into stillness. 

Y/N dropped silently from the branches, staring in amazement at the people amassed around the clearing. She recognised the man in glasses controlling the plant life, although he looked a lot older than he remembered her and couldn’t help but stare after him, before another figure walked past him. The woman she recognised immediately, her grace unchanged even after all these years. But the figure that stood out to her most was the man barking orders from the middle of the clearing, the man she had once described as more beautiful than all of the stars in the sky.  
Suddenly apprehensive, she made to go back, but forgetting she was no more above the ground, she made the mistake of heavy footing it and crunched loudly upon the leaf littered floor.  
At once three sets of eyes snapped towards her and Y/N stared face to face with the first familiar figures she had seen in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I promise in the next chapter Y/N and Saul will actually meet! I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I hope you like it :) Please leave any feedback if you can, it really helps motivate me to write :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N reunites with people from her past, but will it be a happy reunion for them all?

Her aunt was the first person to snap out of the stupor, and came running towards her, wrapping Y/N in the tightest hug she had ever had. 

“Darling girl, I thought you were gone.” She whispered, stroking her hands through Y/N’s hair. It took a few seconds for Y/N to get accustomed to the shock before she remembered to wrap her arms back around the other person. It had been so long since the touch of another, and she relished the comforting squeeze of her aunt’s embrace. 

“Don’t hog her Farah.” Ben Harvey joked, coming around to embrace the younger girl when her aunt finally let her go.

“I missed you both.” Y/N breathed, an unfamiliar feeling settling over her that with a start she realised was safety. 

When Ben let her go, she immediately swivelled in the direction of Saul. It was like a magnet, she was drawn towards him unable to think clearly. The man looked different than she remembered, more tired looking. He had always been muscular, but filled out his uniform much better than he had back in the old days. He was even more handsome than she remembered, and she ached to brush her fingers against his stubble.   
But as the wind whistled through the clearing, the chill it brought snapped her back into focus. Y/N almost shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. She couldn’t afford to think like that. Instead she nodded her head in greeting, her mouth set in a firm line.   
She made to be as unwelcoming as she possibly could, and so was extremely surprised when he strode slowly towards her. He reached out tentatively as if to cup her cheek, before quickly grabbing her and squeezing her tighter than Farah had. His arms snaked around her waist to hold her tight against his chest, with one hand reaching up to cradle her head. Hints of leather and mint swirled around her face as Y/N was pressed so tightly against him, the familiar smell instantly making her drop her guard. Against her better judgement she allowed herself to be held, the comfort from being embraced by another person outweighing the confusion that she was feeling from being greeted so warmly by him, of all people.   
Y/N almost allowed herself to relax completely, but the safety of the embrace was shattered when he gently drew her back and made to press his lips against hers. Alarmed, she pulled back sharply, eyes wide with uncertainty. As she jerked away, small flakes of snow darted from her fingers, her body instantly in defensive mode.  
Disregarding the hurt etched plainly over his face, Y/N stepped completely away from him putting physical distance in between the two of them. 

“Don’t”. She said sharply, internally cursing herself for allowing him to rattle her defences so easily. She moved quickly to Farah’s side, ignoring the questioning glance her aunt sent her. Y/N focused her gaze on the ground, concentrating on her breathing and trying to calm the winter storm that was brewing under her skin. She couldn’t meet his gaze even though it was burning a hole in the back of her head. She couldn’t understand the look he was giving her, couldn’t understand why he was acting the way he was after all he had done. Was it guilt? She wondered. Could he be feeling so guilty from what he had done to her that he was trying to act as he had before the betrayal. Or was it, she wondered that he was trying to look good in front of Ben and Farah? Did they know what he had done? 

“Ahem.” Ben cleared his throat, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “Perhaps it’s high time we return to Alfea. I’m sure it will be more comfortable there to…catch up?” 

Y/N couldn’t help herself, she practically snorted at his words. “I don’t even think I can.” 

At that, all three of the newcomers turned to look at her in surprise. “What do you mean?” Her aunt asked first, asking the question everyone wanted to know. 

“Well has Luna’s kill order been lifted yet?” Y/N asked snarkily, the mere mention of the woman prompting a surge of hatred to surge though her. Her ice called to her from the sudden emotion and she had to quickly repress the feeling afraid of starting a snow fall. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Farah questioned, her worry that her goddaughter had lost her mind during her time in the wilderness starting to grow. “What has the Queen got to do with this?” 

It was Y/N’s turn to look surprised. “You’re kidding right? She’s the one that frickin’ banished me!” 

“What?” Saul spoke at the same time as Ben spluttered out. “She told us that you were dead!” 

“Dead?!” Y/N repeated incredulously. She started to laugh bitterly. “Oh she’s an absolute-“ 

“What the hell is going on?” Farah gripped onto her arm, her nails digging in uncomfortably. Her eyes started to take on that wild look that Y/N recognised from her youth when she would delight in tormenting her aunt until she launched into the strictest version of herself. 

“I don’t know!” Y/N protested, wanting to avoid the lecture that would inevitably arrive soon. “I’ve been banished to this cursed place for the last four years, literally spending my entire time truing to avoid being skewered by the bloody infestation of Burned One’s and-“ 

“Multiple Burned Ones? Here in Solaria?” Saul’s head shot up, and was instantly on high alert. He started to look wildly through the tree line, ready to confront whatever evil headed this way

“Yah.” 

“What on earth?” Ben spluttered again, he too starting to look crazily around the clearing, half expecting something to jump out at him. It was almost comical Y/N thought, especially considering they had just took down one of the creatures not ten minutes ago. What was left of its corpse burned in the distance, the charcoal drifting up from its body still floating near their faces.   
Y/N almost pointed it out, but judging by the look on their faces all three fey had obviously thought that the one creature had been a fluke. 

“This whole place is infested by them.” Y/N said matter of factly, feeling something akin to smugness at the horrified looks that all three were sporting. It was only natural to feel something of pride for being able to survive in such an unimaginable environment, especially when such senior warriors that stood beside her couldn’t fathom it. 

Farah’s grip on her arm grew unbearable tight. “Y/N explain to me exactly what happened. No- I won’t wait until we go back to Alfea. Because we will be going back to Alfea. All of us. I will not leave you in this godforsaken place, no matter what. But you need to tell me exactly what I’ll be walking into when I bring you back.” 

“Probably the Solarian army under orders to shoot me on sight.” Y/N mumbled. 

“Y/N…What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?” Her aunt sighed, relaxing her grip slightly in order to grasp the younger woman’s hands in her own. 

At this, Y/N stiffened again, prickling at the subconscious blame that was being cast her way. It wasn’t her fault, she knew that, but it appeared her aunt did not.   
“Why don’t you ask Saul? He’s the reason I’ve been stuck here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy! Next chapter I will definitely be doing some sort of flash back to before Y/N's banishment and hopefully focus more on her and Saul's relationship! Thank you for all of your comments, I really appreciate the kind words xx


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened between Saul and Y/N years before to cause their relationship to sour?

Years Ago...

The warm rays of morning light snaked through the window, casting a golden glow along the two lovers entwined in bed. Above them the newly strung fairy lights twinkled, the activities of the previous evening being such that turning the lights off was the very last thing on their minds. Around the room various pieces of clothing were strewn over the surfaces and some of the furniture sat crookedly from where it had been bumped into.   
Saul Silva lay propped up on his elbow, gazing stupidly at the sleeping woman beside him. 

“Stop staring at me.” Y/N said whilst smiling at him, still keeping her eyes closed. 

“Well I can’t help it…you are simply mesmerising.” Saul said, his voice husky. 

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes flying open to fix on the man smiling fondly down at her. “I love you.” She laughed again, pulling him down to kiss him sweetly. 

“You hold my heart.” He mumbled against her lips. He held her tenderly then quickly flipped her so Y/N was laying on top of him flush against his chest. Saul held her tightly, relishing the soft warmness of her skin against his. 

“You’re such a sap.” Y/N whispered, unable to keep the smile off of her face. She leaned down to kiss him again but groaned instead when the alarm decided to go off. She made to roll off of him, but Saul’s grip on her waist tightened. 

“You’re not allowed to go.”

“I have to. Plus, you need to get moving too or else all of your students will think you’ve gone soft and let them miss training.” 

Saul sighed. “I suppose you’re right love…But don’t think I have any intention of letting you go easily.” Y/N shrieked with laughter as he began to pepper kisses all over her face and her neck. 

“Saul! Saul! Stop! We have to go or we’ll be late!” 

Miraculously they managed to peel themselves away from each other long enough to dress, Y/N rifling through the drawers Saul had set aside for her for clothes to wear. In some unspoken agreement the two decided to skip breakfast, using the time instead to tenderly kiss against the door. So wrapped up in each other Y/N forgot completely about her duties for the day and started to lead Saul back in the direction of the bed. It was only when the back up alarm on his phone went off that she stepped away guiltily. 

“Sorry…You really should go.” 

Saul groaned and rubbed his hand across his stubble. “I know…but you make it bloody difficult to leave.” 

“It’s not for long.” Y/N replied, pulling her hair back into the bun it had escaped from in their passions. “Remember the plan, we’ll meet at lunch and-“ 

“And go together to tell the Queen that you have no intention of running off to Solaria to captain her guard. Yes, I know love.” Saul kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t worry I’ll be there.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you more.” He replied, giving her one last peck on the cheek before heading out of the door to start drilling his specialists. As junior staff specialist it was his job to oversee the training needs of the students and shape them into warriors. He loved the job, he loved the adrenaline of the training, and he especially loved the fact that it had brought him and Y/N together. As Farah’s goddaughter they had met before, but as her schooling was undertaken in Solaria they didn’t see much at all of each other. That was until a few years ago when Y/N had been sent to Alfea for private training lessons prior to her graduation to the Solarian guard. As leading candidate to join the army, following in her fathers footsteps, Y/N had been fast tracked to graduate with honours and begin her career. However the Queen had demanded perfection and so in her final semester Y/N had spent weeks training under the close eye of one Mr Saul Silva.   
He had been attracted to her from the very first moment he laid eyes on her and there had been flirtation sure, but nothing had happened until Y/N had graduated. Saul had travelled to Solaria to be there for the ceremony and that night they had gone for a celebratory dinner.   
Walking back from the restaurant under a starlit sky, there had been a moment where they both had made a move for the other and well- the rest was history. They had been together ever since, somewhat on the down low, but neither really making too much of an effort to conceal their relationship from the masses. Well- with the exception of the Queen who undoubtedly would give Y/N grief over it.   
From the moment she had been old enough to wield a sword and call her powers forth, Y/N had been groomed by the Luna to join the ranks and fight for Queen and country- a task that Y/N had been all to happy to comply with. That was, until she had met Saul. And now the prospect of giving up her life with him to spend the next 10 years in service to the crown did not hold the same appeal as it had when she were younger. 

It was that thought in mind that allowed Y/N to walk determinedly across the grounds of Alfea to meet with her lover hours after they had parted that morning. They had planned it over the last few weeks that they would go together to hand in her resignation from the army and turn down the offer of Captaincy. She would move in officially with him rather than sneaking around and would apply to teach magic at Alfea. They would travel the world and live happily ever after, and all that was delaying that from happening was having to face Luna.

Saul greeted her with a big smile that he failed miserably to conceal in front of his students. “All right lads, we’re done for the morning. Have a break and be back here by one sharp.” 

Jogging up to meet her from across the bright green of Alfea’s grounds, Saul tugged Y/N quickly behind a pillar and kissed her quickly before the first of the specialists started to make their way back through the school. Y/N blushed as she always did and quickly ducked out of Saul’s grip, avoiding eye contact with the students throwing the two of them knowing looks.   
Once even the last stragglers had gone, Saul reached out to entwine his fingers in hers and the two set off at a leisurely pace to meet with Luna. 

“So how was your day?” Y/N asked, looking up at Saul and admiring the man as they walked. He looked happy, confident and it seemed as if a permanent grin was etched upon his face. 

“Better now that I’m with you love.” 

“Just think. After this, we’ll be free to be together properly.” 

Saul tried to hide his laugh. “I think everyone already knows about us sweetheart. We’re not exactly doing a great job of hiding it.” 

“Maybe that’s because you’re constantly trying to make out with me.” Y/N mumbled, biting back her laugh. 

“What was that?” 

“Oh nothing.” 

Saul brought their entwined hands up and kissed Y/N’s hand. “One day soon I’m going to put a ring on this finger.” 

Y/N’s heart skipped a beat and trying to cover up the immediate rush of butterflies to her stomach replied cheekily. “That’s very presumptuous. What makes you think that I’ll say yes?” Her grin faded as she saw the look that crossed Saul’s face. “Don’t- Saul I’m serious, don’t you dare! Don’t you da-“ 

But Y/N was unable to finish her sentence because she started shrieking as soon as Saul’s fingers launched their attack on her sides. She dropped to the ground as his tickling onslaught continued, shrieking with laughter for a good thirty seconds before he stopped and pulled her to her feet. Still weak from the attack she barely registered as he spun her around and around laughing with great mirth. 

“I hate when you do that.” Y/N said, swatting at him when he eventually put her down and pouting at his goofy grin. Snowflakes fell gently onto their shoulders, remnants of the storm that had burst from her skin dancing down in the air. 

He only responded by barking with laughter and pulled her across the grounds in the direction of Luna’s quarters.   
Minutes later standing in front of her door, Y/N suddenly was hit with nerves at facing the intimidating woman. Without speaking, Saul kissed the top of her head, telling her that everything would be alright with his eyes. 

Taking a deep breath, Y/N reached for the door and knocked, squeezing Saul’s hands once more for comfort before dropping them and wiping all trace of emotion off of her face when the door opened to allow them into Luna’s quarters. 

The two of them stode in, shoulders set and heads held high. The Queen was sat on an elaborate chair, the picture of grace and strength. Balls of dazzling light shone in each corner of the room, casting the Queen in a ethereal glow. Bowing deeply to the woman, Y/N and Saul took their places in front of her and waited to be invited to speak. 

“Mr Silva.” The Queen began, inclining her head to the man. “May I be the first to offer my congratulations.” 

“Your Majesty?” Saul replied, the confusion thick in his voice.

“On the finalisation of your position as Headmaster of Alfea.” The Queen replied matter of factly, as if she were unaware of the bomb that she had just dropped. 

“Forgive me but I don’t understand…Saladin-“ 

“Headmaster Saladin has been removed from the position effective immediately.” The Queen replied, holding her hand up to silence the questions that were about to spill from both Y/N and Saul’s mouths. “The position is open and your name has been the top contender. The notion to appoint you as headmaster was promoted by Ms Dowling, a notion I have seconded.”

Y/N looked uneasily at her partner. His jubilation was a stark contrast to the unease she felt inside, and that she knew must be written all over her face. 

“I assume that you will want to accept the post.” The Queen continued. “So naturally there must be-“ 

“What’s the catch?” Y/N cut in bluntly. Ignoring the look Saul shot her, she took a step forward and addressed the Queen. “Forgive me Queen Luna, but I know you; I’ve trained under you for years. There has to be some sort of angle here and I want to know what it is.” 

The Queen arched her eyebrows but said nothing. An uneasy minute passed as the three of them remained in silence, Y/N cursing herself internally for speaking so out of turn but eventually the Queen pursed her lips and deigned to reply. 

“Well as you so eloquently put it.” She said sharply, causing Y/N to cringe under her pointed stare. “There will be an agreement of course that comes with this opportunity.” 

“And that is?” Saul interjected quickly. 

“Naturally the two of you will need to terminate this silly little fling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, thank you all for your lovely comments and kind words, it really makes my day. This is part one of the past, hopefully I should have the next part up over the next few days. :)


	7. Chapter 7

“It’s not a ‘silly fling’ Y/N said crossly, folding her arms over her chest and fixing the woman with a hard stare. “We love each other.” 

Luna scoffed, lounging back in her chair. “Please spare me these childish declarations. You don’t even know what love is.” 

“I know more about it than-“ 

“Your Majesty.” Saul interrupted, having placed his arm on Y/N’s to silence her outburst. “I’m flattered, but I would not be able to accept the position if it means giving up my relationship with Y/N.” He stared straight ahead, courage and conviction shining out of him and Y/N couldn’t help but stare up at him with admiration in her eyes. 

“A relationship that began when Y/N was a student yes? I don’t think you’re in much of a position to argue about-“ 

“We didn’t start anything until I had graduated.” Y/N interrupted. “And I was of age. Besides he wasn’t even my teacher, you can’t-“ 

“It just won’t do to have the Headmaster of Alfea hung over the Captain of my guard.” Luna spoke over the top of Y/N, her earlier amusement at their situation replaced with a quiet fury, the likes that only those who are used to getting their own way could possess. She stood abruptly, coming to stand before them, her light ebbing from the corners of the room and plunging the place into a darkness. One singular light remained, but it came to rest above Y/N, casing her into the spotlight of an otherwise dark stage. 

“Then consider this my rejection of the offer.” Y/N said quietly. “And my resignation from the army.” 

The light on her being such that she could no longer see the other people in the room didn’t allow Y/N to see the expression on Luna’s face, but the venom in her voice described it just as well. “What would your father say if he could see you now?” 

Memories of her father flashing before her, Y/N could only cringe at the Queen’s words. “The answer is still no.” She practically whispered, blinking back quickly at the tears that had formed behind her eyes. 

Clicking her fingers, the spotlight was extinguished almost as quickly as it had arrived, and the four balls of light returned to the corners of the room. Luna was once more languishing in her chair, her face betraying nothing of the anger she felt. 

“I will give you until this time tomorrow to think very carefully over your answer.” The Queen directed her words to Saul who stood looking extremely uncomfortable, his arms clasped behind his back. 

“And Y/N, we leave tomorrow at noon. I expect you to be waiting here with your bags packed. The swearing in ceremony of the Captain will occur as soon as we arrive back in Solaria. I’ve had enough of this place.” 

Y/N seethed and was about to launch into another scathing report of what she actually thought of the Queen’s words, when Saul wrapped an arm around her waist and practically dragged her out of the room.   
“Thank you Your Majesty.” He managed to say before shutting the door behind them and dragging Y/N out from the Queen’s quarters.   
She opened her mouth to protest, her anger written plainly across her face, but Saul only shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Not here, he mouthed and the two of them walked quickly away from the rooms and out on again to the grounds of Alfea. 

When Saul was satisfied with the distance they had covered, he released his grip on Y/N’s arms and listened to her rant and shout about the injustices of the Queen and the vivid detail of what she would like to do to her with her ice.   
After about five minutes of listening silently, Saul stepped in and wrapped his arms around the woman, stopping her arms from flailing around as she ranted. He kissed the top of her head and felt her deflate slowly, calming down from her lover’s embrace. 

“If you think that I’m even going to consider her offer then you don’t know me at all.” He said softly, stroking her hair. “She can’t make us do anything that we don’t want to.” 

“That’s not what she thinks!” Y/N cried, twisting around to look Saul dead in the eye. “You heard her, she thinks that I’ll be there tomorrow to go with her back to Solaria!” 

“Then we will just have to prove her wrong.” Saul said, a small smile on his lips as he looked at her. “Love…You’re mine and I’m yours. She can’t do anything to stop that.” 

“And if she fires you?” Y/N muttered. 

“Then we’ll go and run away to the mountains and become goat herders.” 

Y/N laughed for the first time since the stress of the meeting. “You’re ridiculous.” 

“Ridiculously in love with you, my beautiful ice fairy.” 

Y/N shook her head in amusement, but wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Listening to him now, it all seemed so ridiculous. But the truth of the matter was that Luna didn’t like to lose, and Y/N had the uncomfortable feeling that she wouldn’t just idly sit by and let them disrespect her. 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————

That night as they lay in Saul’s bed, Y/N could not sleep despite the darkness and the late hour. The unease she had felt earlier had only grown stronger as the hours had worn on. Her skin prickled with distrust and try as she might, she could not shake off the fear that something was about to change.   
She tossed and turned over in bed for what felt like the hundredth time since they had gone to bed, waking Saul up in the process. 

“…Love, are you still awake?” He croaked, his voice gravelly with sleep. 

“Sorry.” Y/N whispered, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “Go back to sleep.” 

In response, Saul flipped over, blinking blearing at her. He groaned and switched the light on, rubbing at his eyes. “C’mere.” Saul reached out and pulled her across the mattress, wrapping his arms around her bare waist. “Sweetheart. You need to sleep, stop worrying about Luna… everything will turn out fine.” 

Y/N relished in the warmth of his skin of hers. Wrapped up in her arms, the fears didn’t seem as real as they had minutes ago. Her head rested on his chest, and the gentle rise and fall of his breaths started to lull her into calmness. 

“Sorry for waking you.” She whispered, stroking her fingers down his chest gently. 

“Well you know…” Saul said, his grip on her waist tightening slightly. “Since we’re both awake, why don’t you let me show you the ways that I worship you…” He pulled her up slightly, turning her onto her back and started to pepper kisses down her body. 

Laughing softly, Y/N quickly flipped the lights off and forgot completely about the days worries. A feat that she would quickly regret the next day.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the next morning rolled around, Y/N awoke to an empty bed. She stretched lazily in the morning sun, assuming that she had slept through Saul’s alarms, the nights activities completely wiping her out. A small smile on her face from the memory only widened when the rustle of the paper on the pillow next to her signified that Saul had left her a note. 

She reached for it lazily and started to read, only for her smile to fade quickly as she read the first few lines. Abruptly she sat up, clutching the covers around her body. Her frown deepened and her heart began to race. As she finished reading, her eyes immediately darted around the room seeking confirmation, her heart sinking as she received it. Gasping for breath as if she had run a marathon, a small snow storm began to brew around the room, the sunny morning disappearing as the chill swept through the place, icicles forming on the ceiling and snow whipping around her. She crumpled the note, throwing it across the room and began to hyperventilate.   
Despite only looking at it for a short time, the words seemed to float behind her eyelids taunting her. 

Dear Y/N,

By the time you read this I’ll be gone. I’ll have taken all my stuff and moved into the new staff quarters. I’m sorry to hurt you, but I’ve made the decision for the both of us. I’m going to be Headmaster. I’m taking the position. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and giving up you seems like a fair trade.   
I’m sorry, but you just aren’t enough.   
Saul. 

As Y/N bit back a sob, the snowflakes that were whirling quickly began to crystallise bringing hail around her, smashing into the furniture that had been left behind. All of Saul’s things were gone. She could see that easily, the bare bookshelves, the empty wardrobe hanging open with his clothes missing. Y/N didn’t know how she had slept through it all, but it was as if all of Saul’s presence had disappeared from the place. The only things that remained were the fairy lights she had so lovingly hung for him to brighten the place up. 

The pain was too much, and as she sobbed heartbroken alone in room, the storm raged on, a blizzard whirling around her. But even the sharpness of the ice as it bit into her skin was nothing compared to the dagger that sliced into her heart.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Hours later Y/N was out of the door, her things packed into the small bag slung over her back. She had only one destination in mind, and if she hurried she would get there in time.   
The thought had occurred to her in between bouts of crying, that she was being tricked somehow- that this was all a big misunderstanding. She had set out in search of Saul to demand answers from him, not being able to fully believe that the loving, kind man she had fallen in love with could cruelly cast her aside as if she meant nothing. She was sure that it would have to be a mistake. But as she had walked across the halls of Alfea, she had heard the booming voice of Ben Harvey talking animatedly with someone about the new headmaster. Y/N had ducked behind a pillar and had listened in horror as Ben confirmed what she had feared; Saul had indeed taken the new position and had indeed moved into the Headmaster’s quarters that morning. 

Shaking with a quiet fury, Y/N had retreated back to her room, leaving a trail of ice behind. She had packed quickly and was now on her way to a fresh start. 

Without pausing to knock, she barged her way into the Queen’s quarters. Luna took one look at the reddened eyes of the girl in front of her and sighed. 

“A hard choice I’m sure.” She said sternly. “But one that you won’t regret.” 

Y/N said nothing but dropped to her knee and bowed deeply. “I’m ready to return to Solaria, Your Grace.” 

“Then rise Captain.” The Queen said, twisting her ring to open a portal of glowing blue light. “And let’s return home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Than you again for all of your comments, it really helps me stay motivated to write! Also how great it is that we are definitely getting a Season 2! I should have the next part out soon, and it will focus more on the present-day situation. :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the present day situation, and will Y/N choose to go back with Saul?

Present Day

The four of them remained in the forest clearing when Saul began to splutter half formed sentences, his confusion and his anger twisting his words. 

“What are you talking- what have I got to do….You’re the one that left! And this place? Christ woman! I thought you were dead!” 

Rage enveloped Y/N. Her face began to burn with anger, the redness of her skin a stark contrast from the ice that started to crystallise the leaves and branches nearest to her. Opening her mouth to argue, any words that she managed to shout were drowned out by the nearby roar of the creatures that still stalked them.   
Instinctively, Y/N dropped to a fighters stance, a thick staff made of ice appearing with barely a flick of her hands. Sharp spears of ice glistened in the air where they hung, ready to be deployed as Y/N saw fit. She scoured the trees quickly in search of the beasts, missing the puzzled look Farah was sporting.  
The older woman was concerned- she didn’t understand the power that her goddaughter was wielding without missing a beat. Her eyes hadn’t even glowed the pale blue that came with calling on her powers- it had just appeared. 

“We need to leave.” Y/N said lowly, her eyes still cast on the tree line. “They’re close.” 

“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Ben said quickly, moving closer to the group. “Farah? If you will.” 

The Headmistress nodded, although worry still clouded her face. She twisted the ring that adorned her finger, summoning a portal immediately.   
Ben was the first to cross, muttering under his breath calculations and scientific terms that nobody else had a hope in hell of understanding. Farah was the next to step through, motioning for the others to follow quickly. 

When it was just Saul and Y/N left, he motioned for her to go first, an action that earned him nothing but an eye roll. Still Y/N stepped through the first gate she had in years, a delicious warmth spreading across her skin as she came out to the sunny grounds of Alfea.   
She closed her eyes, savouring the smells, the breeze, the sounds that were so foreign to her. It was like she had stepped into a dream. She could see the sky; bright blue and cloudless, instead of the endless branches of the forest. There were no blood chilling roars- only the faint peals of laughter. And perhaps the most important of all- there were people. Real life people, walking and talking and training. Y/N spun around slowly, taking it all in with the first genuine smile on her face in a long time. 

From beside her, Saul arrived through the gate and Farah closed it quickly, eager to separate that world from this one. “What do you think?” Saul asked her quietly, a strange expression across his face as he watched the girl spin around. 

So wrapped up in the joy, she forgot for a second her anger towards him. “I love it.” She whispered.

“Saul!” A familiar voice sounded and Y/N was only slightly taken aback as a tall blonde man ran up to them, reaching out to clasp his mentor on the back. “You’re back and-“

The boy stilled suddenly, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. “Y/N? But how?” 

“Sky!” Y/N cried, delighted to see the younger boy. He had grown so much taller since the last time she had seen him, but there was no mistaking the young man’s infectious grin. He whooped and wrapped her in a bone-splitting bear hug, easily lifting her around and spinning her. 

“I can’t believe it! I thought you were dead! So did Saul! He literally hasn’t smiled since-“ 

“Okay that’s enough of that.” Saul said gruffly, a stark contrast to the grinning younger people in front of him. 

“It’s true though!” Sky couldn’t calm down, he was practically bouncing around the grass. “Does this mean you guys are back together?” 

Y/N scoffed, her smile fading. “No Sky.” She looked towards her Aunt Farah who was waiting with her arms crossed. “Look, I promise we’ll catch up soon, but I have to go with Farah now.” 

Walking past the boy as his smile faded, Y/N linked arms with the Headmistress and the two began the trek back to her office. With her back turned, Y/N did not see the flash of hurt on Saul’s face, but Sky clearly did. His concern for his mentor grew, the expected happiness on the man’s face nowhere to be seen. 

“What happened?” Sky asked quietly. 

“I wish I knew mate.” Saul replied sadly. He reached out to clasp the young man’s shoulder. “You run along- don’t think I don’t know what time it is; you should be in class.” 

To Saul’s amusement, the tips of Sky’s ears reddened. “Well…there was this thing with Bloom and I-“ 

Saul barked out a laugh. “Get to class Sky.” He ruffled the lad’s hair and smiled softly as he jogged across the lawn, passing Y/N and Farah’s retreating figures. 

As Saul watched them go, his smile dropped once more and the despair that he had been keeping in spilled out onto his face. 

“I don’t understand any of this.” He said softly to Ben who had tactfully stepped aside whilst Y/N and Sky had reunited. “Why is she acting like I'm the one that dragged her into that forest and chained her up?” 

“Well…Maybe you need to look at it from her point of view.” Ben offered, dabbing at his brow with his handkerchief. “She has been fighting in survival mode every day for the last four years. You don’t just walk out of that unscathed.” 

“So I just roll with this? This hate towards me that I don’t understand?” Saul cried desperately, pulling at his hair. 

“No. But you need to give her time. Let her get comfortable and then pursue it.” Ben offered. “But she’s obviously hurt by something she thinks you did, and right now you don’t get to tell her how she should feel.”

With that, Ben clasped Saul sadly on the shoulder and started to walk towards the greenhouse, leaving Saul alone to process his thoughts. On one hand, he was absolutely elated at Y/N’s presence, but on the other, it was taking every bit of self control not to run up to her and shake her out of the trance that she had to be in.   
Saul shook his head and steadied his shoulders. He had just got her back, he couldn’t lose her again without knowing why. He vowed then and there to do whatever it took to convince Y/N of his still burning love for her. He had too. There simply wasn’t an option for Y/N to be back in his life and not in his arms.   
With that determination in mind, he set off quickly in the direction she had gone, desperate to understand, desperate to win her back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N finally catches Farah up to speed...

Farah Dowling sat down at her desk with a sigh and without her usual grace. She was drained, both from the adrenaline and fear that came with any Burned One encounter as well as the overwhelming mix of grief, joy and confusion that came with rescuing Y/N. 

She hadn't believed Bloom at first, had thought that her dreams were just that- dreams. But the young fairy was so insistent and when the spell had worked (albeit not in the way it should have) she hadn't been able to resist digging deeper. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the young fairy who had slumped and shook in her seat all the while her spell had been cast. No matter what Farah or Saul had attempted to do to wake her up or shake her out of it, the fairy simply couldn’t. Not until her eyes had snapped open and had spoken the words that had awoken such hope in Farah's heart. 

There hadn't been a body. No one could tell her where her goddaughters body may lay. All Queen Luna had said was that it was a 'training exercise gone wrong'. She had cooly offered her condolences, leaving Farah to uphold example with a stiff upper lip until she could retreat into the sanctuary of her quarters and fall apart in private there. Saul had of course insisted on a memorial, and had spent weeks doing the hard labour himself digging foundations and building the frame until a beautiful memorial garden had been erected. With Ben's help, it had turned into a beautiful place that Farah pretended she didn't know Saul spent all of his free time in. 

As the years had passed, both she and Ben had encouraged him to start living his life again, to go out and try to meet someone new. But the stubborn man had refused, always citing some excuse and then retreating behind the hedges and avoiding everything but his grief. Now, Farah thought, he bore a different kind of grief. One that she could not give advice or offer suggestions to fix. 

She had given Y/N keys to an empty suite and had invited her to bathe and change before coming back to see her. That had been a good hour ago and she was expecting her goddaughter at any minute.  
Farah had taken in the young fairy a good decade ago after the tragic loss of her parents. Her father had been one of the most esteemed members of the Queens guard though, and despite Farah fighting for the fairy to train at Alfea, the Queen had insisted on overseeing Y/Ns training personally, fast tracking her through a career in the guard. At the time Farah had thought the unusual interest the Queen had might have something to do with guilt over leaving the poor child an orphan, but now...Farah wasn't stupid- she knew the Queen must have been keeping Y/Ns presence a secret for all of these years, she just couldn't figure out why. 

A soft knock on the door brought Farah out of her thoughts. 

"Hello darling," she said, using her magic to open the door without getting up. Only the fairy that stepped through the door was not the fairy that she had been expecting. 

"Um, sorry Professor." Bloom said looking only slightly awkward. "I know you said not to push it, but I saw Sky and he said that you brought her back and I just really want to meet her, like you know properly this time and I-" 

"Bloom." Ms Dowling tried to be firm but failed when she took in the worry in the young girl's eyes. "She just got back, let her settle in first and then I promise I will broach the subject with her." Seeing the crestfallen look sweeping across Bloom's face, Farah sighed once more and came to stand by her. "I'm just worried about her and I think any type of shock might do more harm than good. Let's let her just have this day before we start adding any more mysteries onto her plate. Alright?" 

Bloom nodded sadly. "But we're definitely related. Right?" 

"You responded very highly to the spell Bloom." Farah replied. "I would find it very unlikely that you weren't closely related. But for now, let's not burden Y/N with anything else." 

"What are you not burdening me with?" A voice came from the open doorway, and Farah swivelled in alarm, hastily and without thought trying to conceal Bloom. 

"Woah! Firey?" Y/N continued stepping into the room. "I honestly thought I was hallucinating. Good to know you're real!" Then just as if to confirm, Y/N gently reached out lightly knock her first against the younger girl's arm. "Yep actually real." She said softly. 

“Um? Thanks?” Bloom said awkwardly, tucking her hair behind her ears and scrunching her nose in a gesture that Farah realised with alarm was identical to what the older girl used to do. 

“So.” Y/N hopped up onto Farah’s desk, her legs dangling over the sides. “What are you not burdening me with?” 

“Nothing.” Farah replied quickly. “Bloom was just leaving.” She shot a pointed look to the younger fairy who just sighed deeply and started to trudge out of the room, pausing just before the open door. “It’s really nice to see you again.” 

Y/N smiled warmly back at her. “You too!” 

As Bloom closed the door behind her, Y/N swivelled to Farah quickly. “Alright spill.” 

“There’s nothing to spill.” 

“There’s obviously something to spill. Come on, I can take it.” 

“Y/N…” 

“Aunt Farah…” 

Farah sighed and sat back down in her chair rubbing her temples at the same time. “Why don’t we address the elephant in the room first. Okay?”

Y/N nodded in resignation, her shoulders drooping slightly. “Where do you want to start?” 

“I don’t know darling, how about the fact that you are here in front of me and not in a morgue somewhere in Solaria?” 

At that Y/N scoffed. “That I can’t help you with. I have no idea whatsoever why Luna would tell you I was dead. Banished sure, but definitely not dead.” 

“Then why did she banish you?” Farah asked gently. “She didn’t tell me a dammed thing- I thought that I had lost you forever.” 

“I’m sorry Aunt F. I really am.” Y/N said, taking note for the first time how much more older and tired her godmother looked. She seemed exhausted and her usual poise and elegance were replaced by a figure slumped in her chair. 

“I just want to understand my darling…Why were you banished?” 

“Because of Saul.” Y/N said matter of factly, starting to push various objects around her aunt’s desk. She held up a photograph. “Is this me?” 

“Yes.” Farah replied, replacing it in its spot on her desk. “Now stop dodging the question. What happened with Saul?” 

“You mean the part where he chose to be headmaster over being with me? Or the part where he signed me up to take his bullshit punishment and left me to rot?” 

“Darling…You need to tell me everything.” Farah placed her hand over her goddaughters, noticing immediately the ice coldness of her hands and the stray snowflakes that started to drift around them. 

Y/N sighed. “I can’t.” She said, her voice cracking. “It hurts too much.” 

“Please.” Farah begged for understanding. 

Y/N took a deep breath and squeezed her aunt’s hands, focusing on her breathing to remove the snow. “He left me, so I went back to be Captain of the Guard, as you know…Well a few months after that Luna came to me and said that Saul had been arrested for the murder of Andreas of Eraklyon, and he was gonna stand trial. She said all this bullshit about how he was gonna have a traditional trial by combat and did I want to be his second?” 

Y/N’s breath was becoming raggedy and it took a good deal of Farah’s encouragement to continue. “He was going to have to fight against the best of the guard- my guys you know? So I knew how much danger he was going to be in, no matter how great of a fighter he was…So I accepted.” 

Y/N paused to wipe away the hot tears that had started to spill. “I still loved him Aunt Farah! What was I supposed to do?” 

Farah smoothed down Y/N’s hair and tried her best to comfort the fairy. “I don’t know.” 

“So I accepted and became his second, and I kept trying to contact him- contact you all actually, but nothing came through and no one would return my calls. Anyway, one night I was sleeping and some of my colleagues came to take me and I thought for sure that they had finally decided to have this stupid trial by combat thing, only…” 

“Only?” Farah probed gently. 

“Only instead of fighting another fairy to the death, they apparently had sentenced him to fight all of Solaria’s Burned One’s in the forest where they were contained. Oh yeah”, Y/N half chuckled at her aunt’s surprised expression. “Luna knew all along about the bloody Burned Ones. She’d contained all of the hundreds that were terrorising Solaria and locked them up in the forest arena.” 

“Anyway,” Y/N continued. “I get there in the dead of the night, and I’m hella confused, and then Luna starts going on and on about how as Saul’s second, he was legally able to nominate me to accept his punishment. So he sentenced me to exile in the forest.” 

Farah couldn’t hold in her gasp, her hand flying up to her mouth. “But he never- I never thought anything like this was happening. I didn’t know!” 

“Luna told me he could either choose to take his own punishment and live in exile there clearing the forest of Burned Ones, or he could nominate his second…And he didn’t hesitate apparently.” Y/N said bitterly, swiping furiously at her tears. 

“She said that legally I had to stay there and rid the forest of the Burned One’s, and I could only leave if I had killed them all, or if Saul chose to take his own punishment.” 

“No.” Farah breathed. 

Y/N nodded, chuckling bitterly. “It’s true Aunt F. And I tried, believe me I tried every single day to kill them all, so I could return to you. But they just kept multiplying and there was never any end in sight. I was one fairy sent to kill an entire country’s worth of beats. All the while living in the knowledge that the supposed love of my life had flung me aside like I meant nothing…Like I was nothing.” 

“My darling…” 

“The worst part of it all though, is the audacity of that man to sit back there and pretend that he missed me, like he gave a damn about me! It’s such a stupid act!” Y/N cried. “I tell you what Aunt Farah, if I never have to see that man again, it will be too soon.” 

“Couldn’t you try and leave?” Farah asked gently. 

Y/N snorted. “Like Luna didn’t think of that. The whole place had a barrier that I couldn’t pass through.” She fake laughed and brushed at her eyes again, smearing the small amount of mascara that she had managed to source before coming down to Farah’s office. “I honestly thought that I was going to die there.” 

Farah stood up and wordlessly came to cradle Y/N’s body in hers. “I’m so sorry.” She whispered. “I should have pushed it- I should have come to save you.” 

Y/N smiled fondly at the older fairy. “You wouldn’t have been able to do anything anyway. She wouldn’t let you. To be honest, I’m surprised that she’s not already here with a knife to my throat…You know since I abandoned the whole deal.” 

At that, Farah snapped back into her usual alert and poised self. “She can try.” She said cooly. “But she will have to answer to me. And I promise you, she will pay for what she has done.” 

—————————-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other side of Alfea, after listening to Bloom rant and rave about her new family member’s arrival, the girls in the Winx suite disbanded with the promise to meet after class. 

For Stella this meant that she had an hour’s free period to do with as she pleased before meeting up with the girls for lunch. Whilst debating whether to go and watch the Specialists train, or actually make headway on some of her assignments, she flopped onto her bed, groaning as her phone rang. 

“Yes mother?” 

“Stella, finally. I have been trying to reach you all day. It’s important that we aren’t seen to clash when I visit later in the week. I need you to send me your wardrobe list immediately so I can prepare.” 

Stella rolled her eyes. “You know mum, it would be nice if one of these days you actually called to ask me something about my life. You know like Hi Stella, how’s classes? How are your friends? Anything interesting happen lately? Oh yes mother, actually one of my suite mates finally thinks she’s found her missing family member and guess what she was rescued from some cursed forest like in an absolute tragic story. How’s your magic going? Oh its great- definitely not blinded anyone recently.” 

Stella paused for breath, immediately regretting the choice of words to her mother. Readying herself for the inevitable sharp words that Queen Luna would retaliate with, she didn’t anticipate her mother’s next ones. 

“A fairy rescued from a cursed forest? Stella, you must tell me everything. Spare no detail…I need to be informed for my visit to Alfea.” 

“Mum?” 

“Start talking dear, I won’t ask again. And remember…I want to know everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Some more answers! Also I'm kind of excited to write about Saul's reaction to the news. Thank you all for the feedback and the comments, it honestly makes my day :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is revealed...

“Get off of me!” Y/N practically snarled as she shook her arm out of Saul’s grasp. 

“Love, please!” 

“Don’t call me that!” She snapped, shoving past him and jogging down the steps from Farah’s office quickly. “And leave me the hell alone!”

Saul’s arm hung in the air outstretched, physically reaching out as the woman he loved all but ran from him. He had to pinch his nails into his palms to stop himself from chasing after her, knowing that he shouldn’t have pushed it and should have just given her the space that Ben had said to. But it was so hard, especially seeing her hurting and being unable to do anything about it.   
He took a deep breath and turned towards Farah’s room, hoping that she might at least have some answers now. The two women had been held up in the office for the best part of an hour, and Saul hoped against hope that the Headmistress could at last shed some light upon the situation. He had been waiting outside all that time, and the second Y/N had emerged, he had tried to talk to her, instinctively reaching for her shoulder- only she hadn’t responded well to that, hadn’t responded well to anything really that he had done since he had seen her again, and now he desperately needed answers from Farah. Fast. 

Well, that was the plan at least, but then Saul hadn’t factored in Farah’s sudden burst of anger against him as well. So it was quite the surprise to him at least when upon entering the room, the floor suddenly vanished from under him and he was left dangling in mid air, the sudden motion leaving him nauseous. 

“What the hell?” He shouted, looking for intruders, but seeing only Farah sitting casually by the window seat, her eyes aglow. “It’s me Farah! Put me down!” 

As if she didn’t have a care in the world, Farah walked slowly over to where Saul hung upside down. She peered at him; a lion examining her prey, before she sat gracefully on the top of her desk where her goddaughter had been just minutes before. 

“No Saul…” She said slowly. “I don’t think that I will.” 

“What the-“ 

“That is, not until you start talking.” Farah spoke over him. “And I want the truth. The whole truth this time.” 

Starting to really feel the blood rushing to his head, Saul kicked and attempted to right himself to no avail. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! What truth?” 

Farah tutted, acting as if dangling Specialist’s from the ceiling was an everyday occurrence and continued to speak in that quiet, dangerous tone. “Why don’t you start with telling me the truth about the deal you struck with the Queen? Hmm? The one where you traded your life for Y/N’s? The one where you pretended to join me in grief, but really was laughing behind my back.” 

“Farah I respect you, I really do. But I’m starting to question whether you have lost your bloody mind!” 

For the first time since he had been strung upside down, Saul started to see Farah lose some of the cool facade she had been sporting. 

“How can you say that!” She cried. “How can you continue to lie to me? I thought we were friends!” 

“You’re not the only one…Just to be clear, what exactly are you accusing me of? Trading Y/N’s life for mine? Up until yesterday I thought she was dead! I though the love of my life was gone forever.” Sweat was starting to sting in his eyes, but despite his best efforts, Saul was unable reach his arms to his face, trapped by Farah’s spell. 

The woman in question only scoffed, making a display of studying her nails. 

“Please Farah.” Saul pleaded as the dizziness started to really affect him. “Help me understand what exactly is going on.” 

And so Farah told him all that her goddaughter had spoken, watching Saul’s face turn redder and redder from hanging upside down. Just when it seemed he was actually going to lose consciousness, he managed to grind out something that shocked Farah. 

“Examine me.” 

“What?” 

“Examine my mind.” 

“Saul..” 

“You’re accusing me of being something I’m not, doing something I never did.” Saul managed to say, each word requiring more and more effort to speak it. “Look into my mind and you will see the truth.” 

Farah managed to look conflicted for a few moments before Saul really started to pass out. In an instant, she righted him, but kept the part of the spell on him that paralysed him. Despite the effort that came with maintaining the spell for so long, Farah jumped right into reading his mind, not sparing any extra effort with being gentle. 

Saul winced as Farah tore through his mind. It was a strange sensation, as if something had reached into his brain with claws and was rattling around in there, stirring everything around. Memories of the past few days flashed before him, a stinging pain associated with them as they passed in front of his eyes. He saw as if through someone else’s eyes the reunion of him and Y/N, the talk with Ben, even the acrobatics workshop Farah had put him through. But nothing really started to burn until Farah started going back, tearing around for those grief stricken memories he had all but locked away. He started to groan, then started to yell in pain as memory after memory whirled before him. 

He saw in clear detail the morning that he had woken up to an empty bed, only a note beside him on her pillow. He saw himself reading her words, his heart shattering over and over again at the words, “You just aren’t enough.”   
He saw himself tearing through the school to find her, only to be turned away by Luna’s guards saying that she had chosen the Captaincy. He saw himself accept the position of Headmaster in shock, needing her beside him but having to stand broken hearted and pretend everything was fine. 

He saw the days and weeks that passed by in a blur, saw himself twirling the ring he had wanted to put on her finger around and around, wishing for her to come back.   
And then…he saw perhaps the worst event he had ever lived through at the forefront of his mind. The day he had gone to the staff meeting and saw Farah hunched over, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay. He saw Ben place a hand on his shoulder and tell him gently the worst words he could ever say. He relived the moment he sank to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing as the news sank in. Y/N was gone. Killed in a training accident. She was never coming back. 

Saul was acutely aware of someone screaming in agony, but didn’t quite register it was himself until the vice on his mind was released suddenly. He sank to the floor, the spell broken and clutched at his head, eyes stinging and his throat coarse from the screaming. He didn’t know how long Farah had been tearing around in there, but his mind felt like it had been liquified. He cradled his head in his hands, curled up on the floor in foetal position. 

He barely registered as Farah knelt beside him, sending her magic soothing through his nerve endings and bringing him back slowly but surely from the brink of despair. Unsure of how much time had passed, Saul eventually registered the darkness of the sky from the window as the last of the pounding ache in his head dissipated. 

“Saul…” Farah whispered, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I am so, so sorry.” 

Saul nodded, then instantly wished he hadn’t. Whilst most of the pain had gone, the sudden movement sent a wave of nausea rushing through him. 

“I told you before. “ He managed to say, closing his eyes as he did so. “I love her. I would never do anything to harm her.” 

Farah nodded in reply. “I know that now. I am sorry for doubting you. Truly I am.” 

“So what does this mean?” 

Farah was silent for a minute, collecting her thoughts before she spoke again. “You are both telling the truth. I know that for a fact. Y/N let me into her mind too, although I must admit I did not attack her mind as I did yours…What she says is real for her. And what you say is real for you…But there is something curious.” 

“What?” Saul said, managing to sit up more. 

“You both share a core memory, but as to whose is tarnished I don’t know- Unless…” 

“Unless what?” Saul grunted, having spent all his energy and had no patience for a long convoluted lecture on the mind. 

“The moment of first betrayal that both of you share. It’s almost mirror identical. But it can’t possibly have happened to both of you like that. Something is wrong.” 

Saul sighed deeply. “Farah, I feel like my mind just went through the blender, can we summarise this please?” 

“Of course. My apologies… You two both have a memory of waking up the day Y/N left, alone with a note from the other. Yours was from her saying that she was leaving to be Captain. And her’s was from you saying that you were leaving to be Headmaster…But both memories, they’ve been tampered with.” 

“You mean someone made me forget?” 

“No- What I mean is, the situation for both of you is manipulated. When I looked to that memory there were tiny clues, tells if you like. A shimmer here, a distorted glow there…Saul I believe the two of you are the victims of dreadful piece of magic called light disillusion.” 

“Disillusion?” 

“It comes from very powerful light fairies. Basically they can distort the light, the images that one sees. They can create a whole different scene, a different setting to what is really there by altering the shadows, the light in the room.” 

“What are you saying?” Saul asked slowly, still not quite grasping what Farah was saying. 

“Someone tricked the two of you into thinking that the other left. That note itself- it was practically glowing- it wasn’t real.” 

Saul shook his head slowly. “She wrote that she chose to leave me. That can’t just be a distortion. I would know.” 

“What happened to the note Saul?” Farah asked quietly. “When you went looking for it later? Where was it?” 

“It was…I- ugh…” Saul shook his head again. “I don’t remember seeing it after I left the room.” 

Farah inclined her head knowingly. “And I’ll bet anything that its the same for Y/N. Don’t you see it yet? Someone manipulated both of you- neither of you chose to leave the other.” 

“And this idea that I sent Y/N to her death in the Solaria prison world? Is that a disillusion too?” Saul asked desperately, the wheels in his head finally starting to spin into action. 

“I’d wager that it wasn’t a spell.” Farah said. “But good old fashioned manipulation and lies. And I can think of exactly the fairy who would do that.” 

“Luna.” Saul breathed. “Why?” 

“That is the million dollar question.” Farah replied. “But one that I intend to find the answer to.” 

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————---------------------------------------

From behind Farah’s closed door, Aisha’s heart was racing. She hadn’t set out to eavesdrop exactly, but when the screaming had started, she hadn’t been able to stop herself. 

All the time listening to Ms Dowling and Mr Silva’s conversation, Aisha had had to bit down on her lip to keep herself from gasping out loud. It was awful everything that had been done to drive the lover’s apart and Aisha couldn’t help but feel desperately sorry for the two of them. 

That’s why hours later when she burst into the dorm and spilled everything to the girls, she instantly dove into planning mode to help reunite the two. 

“Guys we have to do something!” She had cried. 

Bloom, who had been listening intently jumped up to her feet and started to jot down ideas in her worn notebook. “Aisha is right- we have to save their relationship!” 

“Bloom…I don’t know.” Musa said uncertainly, feeling uneasy at the meddling into the personal lives of others, when as a rule she tried to stay away from it. “We don’t know the whole story.” 

‘But we do!” Bloom cried. “Sky told me everything- Y/N and Saul were the cutest couple in the world and he was absolutely destroyed when she left and then you know subsequently was thought to be dead! We have to help them- she could be my cousin or something!” 

“It’s true.” Terra piped up from where she was tending to her plants. “They really were the perfect couple. Just so in love with each other you know?” 

“Bloom…” Musa began again, but was cut off by Bloom’s excited rambling. 

“Stella- your mum must know something! We can help clear this all up, it’s got to just be this whole misunderstanding.” 

“Yeah.” Stella mumbled, looking increasingly uncomfortable. 

“Look- all we have to do is just tell her what we know!” Bloom cried. She jumped onto the table, ignoring the cries of protest from her friends. “She has to know! We can tell her- we can get them back together!”

Aisha nodded in agreement. “Bloom’s right- she deserves to know that Saul isn’t the monster that she thinks he is. She deserves to know the truth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long time between posting chapters...work has been super crazy this week. Anyway, I hope you like this next part! ;)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Description of panic attacks. I wrote it how it's happened to me and what I've used to deal with them, but I understand that they are different for everyone. To anyone that is suffering from anxiety or panic attacks, I'm sending love and hugs your way xx

The tall hedges of the memorial garden loomed in front of Y/N, the beauty of the place managing to quell slightly the butterflies that had seemed to take up residence in her stomach since arriving back at Alfea.   
She wasn’t scared per se- but there was a definite fear of the unknown and a definite unsettlement that seemed to linger around her no matter where she went in the grounds. 

Her Aunt Farah had suggested to just take it easy and rest, not to push it too much. But despite the luxury of her room, of the shower and of the bed- staying inside being locked up was just not something she could cope with.   
She had spent four years trapped in a cage, even one as expansive as the Solarian forest, and for the first day of her release, Y/N did not want to spend a single minute inside. 

As the evening had fallen, Y/N had walked through the grounds, re-familiarising herself with the wonder of the place. She had watched Sky and his fellow Specialists fight, had visited Ben in the greenhouse and had seen Sam for the first time in years. She had ignored the smell of cooked meat coming from the school and instead had chosen to continue her walk around the grounds, revelling in the sounds of the insects, the breeze still cold and delicious across her face and the setting sun for the first time not signifying her need to retreat to her treetop hideaway. 

She had walked circles around the place, visiting the stone circle before her gaze was captured by something she definitely did not remember from before.   
What she had thought of as a hedge maze was actually on closer inspection the entrance to a hidden garden- fairy lights wrapped around the entryway and a stone path curving around to reveal a beautiful secluded spot. The place twinkled in the evening light with the hundreds of strung lights, fireflies drifted around her and the air was thick with the scent of (Your favourite flowers). Y/N turned further into the garden, gazing in awe around her at the bursts of colour- hundreds of flowers grew in every spot along the hedge walls, and in the middle of the garden was a large fountain- the gentle trickling sound of the water hitting the stone instantly soothed her.  
Beside the fountain was a bench and Y/N walked closer to it to inspect the glittering surface she had spotted.   
Realising it was a plaque, she read quickly before a lump developed in her throat and her eyes started once more to glisten with tears.   
She traced her fingers lightly over the engraving, reading the words over and over.

'In memory of the kindest, most generous soul who ever lived and who was taken from me far too soon. Rest in peace my love.'

Underneath the writing was a line of snowflakes, a slightly different texture to the metal words of the plaque. It was as if someone had sat down and painstakingly hand-carved them, and Y/N had no trouble guessing who that would have been.   
But that made no sense to her. Why would Saul do all of this? Even if out of some twisted feeling of guilt, he didn’t have to put in all the effort that creating this garden would entail.   
Y/N was more confused than she had ever been. For the past few years, all she had thought of was Saul sitting somewhere and sneering at her and her misfortune…but now? He had been nothing but kind and sweet to her since her return, and even when they had been alone he had never lapsed into the person that Luna had made him out to be.   
Unease twisted at her stomach, and Y/N drew her knees up under her chin. All she could think about was the soft way his hands had caressed her head in the clearing, his concerned looks to her, his voice- still so gravelly and sweet. It was maddening- she almost wished he would act as she had thought he would- cold and unfeeling.   
Why would he write this? She thought. Why would he create such a beautiful space if she wasn’t enough? 

Y/N was drawn out of her thoughts by the not so subtle whispering and general crashing through the bushes that alerted her to the presence of others. Instinctively, her hands immediately were raised, ice shards springing up and ready to defend her. She lowered her hands quickly when the fire fairy and a bunch of other students came into view. 

“Hi!” Bloom said brightly. 

“Hello there.” 

“So, um…this is kinda awkward, but…” Bloom shuffled her feet and had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “I have to tell you something.” 

Y/N motioned for the fairy to continue, only to pause when she caught sight of the fairy to Bloom’s right. “Terra Harvey is that you?” Y/N rushed to embrace the younger fairy, squeezing her tightly. 

“Hi, oh my gosh, it’s so weird to see you- good weird though, not bad weird. How are you, apart from you know not being dead?” Terra squeaked, blushing like mad from the attention. 

Y/N scoffed playfully. “Well, it’s a bit of an adjustment, but you know me, I’ll be fine.” The two girls smiled warmly at each other, before Y/N remembered her manners and turned back to Bloom. “Sorry that was rude, what were you saying love?” 

“Um…” Bloom cleared her throat and looked to her friends as if for encouragement before continuing. “We kind of found out something and I think you should know.”

“Okay fiery, spill.” 

“Well it’s about Mr Silva-Saul.” Bloom continued, noticing immediately how the older girl’s smile disappeared and was replaced with a guarded expression. 

“Go on…” Y/N motioned again. 

“He didn’t betray you!” A tall girl next to Bloom blurted out. At Y/N’s incredulous look, she held out her hand. “Sorry my name’s Aisha.” 

“Hi Aisha.” Y/N said slowly, fully noticing the looks that were passing between the fairy’s. “Care to elaborate?” 

“Bloom.” A smaller fairy with two knots in her hair spoke quietly, her eyes narrowing when the auburn haired girl didn’t respond. 

“Aisha heard him and Ms Dowling!” Bloom continued. “They were talking about how you and him were manipulated, you both didn’t write each other a note- it was faked.” 

Y/N shook her head, trying to quell the nervous laughter that rose in her chest. An uncomfortable chill started to travel up from her fingertips, her arms starting to take on a blue tinge. “No, you must have misunderstood.” 

“I heard them.” Aisha stepped forward. “He never wrote you a note, he thought you wrote to him that you guys were done and then the next thing he knew you were reported dead.” 

“It’s true.” Terra piped up as Y/N continued to shake her head. “Well, I wasn’t there of course, but Aisha swears it. Mr Silva went insane when you left by the way- he kept trying to get to Solaria, I remember because he and dad kept arguing about it, and then when you died he built this place. ” 

“No.” Y/N breathed, the blue tinge creeping up slowly across her elbows. 

“Bloom.” Musa repeated, but Bloom only brushed her off again. 

“Mr Silva never did any of the things that you think he did- someone was lying to you!” Bloom insisted. “Aisha heard them- you have to believe us.” 

“No.” 

Aisha and Bloom started speaking at once, leaving Y/N unable to make sense of what they were saying. Not that it would have made much difference anyway, because a ringing sound was echoing in her ears and leaving her unable to really focus on anything the girls were saying. Y/N saw the blond girl- was that the princess? Who up until then had been quiet start to say something, but she sounded so far away. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Y/N managed to whisper. 

“Can’t you feel it?” Bloom cried. “We’re related! That’s how we found you- because of the spell Ms Dowling did- we have to be related we just have to be!” 

Sudden nausea gripped Y/N and despite the chill sweeping over her body, sweat started to form on her forehead. 

“How old are you?” Y/N breathed shakily. 

“16.” 

“Bloom!” Musa said sharply now, aghast at how any of the other fairies were unable to see the panic that they were causing the older girl. She was pale and beginning to shake, her limbs starting to take on a pale blue hue. 

Y/N’s vision started to blur and the concerned faces of the fairies in front of her managed to swim in and out of focus. She vaguely noticed as Terra sprinted off out of the garden and the other four fairies started to crowd around her. 

Everything was sliding in and out of focus and suddenly her chest felt extremely tight. She started to take a deep breath but found that she was unable to. Y/N’s breaths came in gasps and black spots danced across her vision. She was unaware of it, but the other fairies could only watch as ice spread quickly from her body and across the bench and onto the walls of the garden, changing it to a frosty wonderland. The fountain stopped tinkling as the water froze solid and all up along the hedges did the ice climb. 

“She’s hyperventilating!” Musa cried as she whacked Bloom’s shoulder with her sleeve. “I told you not to push it and now she’s freaking out.” 

Bloom bit her lip in worry and tried her best to shake Y/N out of the panic she found herself in. “Guys. What do we do?” 

But the other fairies could only look on worriedly as Y/N continued to desperately suck in breath, her gaze fixed on some unseen point in the distance.

The ice had spread across to the entrance of the garden itself before footsteps were heard racing along the path. A loud cry as the person slipped across the ice was heard, and then the four fairies found themselves being pushed out of the way by a familiar man dressed in the Specialists uniform. 

“I ran into him on the way to get Dad.” Terra said as a way of explanation when she came to stand back with the group and joined them in watching the headmaster fall to his knees in front of the older fairy. 

“Come on love, it’s okay. Everything’s okay. Nothing is going to hurt you I promise. I’ve got you.” He jumped back to his feet and swept Y/N up in his arms, sitting back down on the bench with her not fighting against his embrace, her gaze still far away. 

Despite the ice freezing him to the core, Saul Silva made no mention of anything other than gentle words of comfort to the ice fairy. He stroked her hair gently and whispered to her until she started to calm slightly. Her breath still came in ragged puffs though, and Saul said lowly in her ear the words he had used before to calm her. 

“Love, I want you to tell me three. things that you can see.” 

“I…I can’t.” She whispered. 

“You can love. Just focus on one thing at a time.” Saul replied gently, stroking the hair away from her face.

“You…the bench….the fountain- oh God I froze it!” Y/N started to shake more violently and Saul turned her face into his chest. 

“Don’t worry about that love okay? Tell me two things you can hear.” His lips brushed against her ear, speaking quietly and gently. 

“Birds…and…I don’t know what else Saul!” 

“What else can you hear? Focus sweetheart.” Saul could feel her heartbeat beginning to slow under his fingertips where he held her and as she concentrated on the sounds around her, he relaxed slightly when her breath began to even out. 

“Insects?” She whispered. 

“Thats good.” He whispered in return, kissing the top of her head gently. “Now just tell me one thing you can touch.” 

Instinctively, Y/N threaded her arms into Saul’s jacket, the leather underneath her hands just as comforting as it had ever been. “You.” She breathed, and made no attempt to wriggle out of his grip. She let her head fall against his chest, exhausted from the ordeal. Without realising it, her ice had receded from its reach out into the garden, and within minutes, the uncomfortable chill was gone completely- a feat that Saul greatly appreciated. 

They remained in each others embrace for what felt like hours, before Y/N spoke again. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered. 

“For what?” 

“For panicking again…I haven’t had an attack like that in such a long time.” 

Saul kissed the top of her head again. “It’s not your fault, and there’s no need to apologise. All I want to do is make sure that you’re okay.” 

“Where did they all go?” Y/N asked suddenly, sitting up and realising that she and Saul were alone in the garden. 

“They left a while ago.” Saul replied. “I ran into Terra and came straight here. They all went soon after.” 

Y/N let her head fall back against Saul’s chest again, and it was a while before either of them spoke. Saul didn’t want to ruin the moment and was content to let Y/N take all the time that she needed. When they had been together, she would sometimes get panic attacks like the one she had just had, and he would always be able to talk her out of it by focusing her attention on things other than the fear. He just thanked whoever was listening that Terra had found him that evening. 

“Saul?” Y/N asked quietly after a few more minutes of silence. 

“Hmm?” 

“Aisha said she heard you and Aunt Farah.” 

“Did she?” 

“She said that you never wrote that letter.” 

“I swear to you I didn’t.” 

“Did you trade me in? My life for yours?” 

“I swear to you love, I would rather die before I let anything happen to you. Someone has been lying to us and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. But I need you to know that I never left you in that forest. I’ve been grieving you for the past four years.” 

“I missed you.” Y/N said in a small voice. 

“I missed you more.” Saul tightened his arms around her and the two of them fell into comfortable silence once more, neither of them making any attempt to leave the other.   
For the first time in years, with Saul’s arms wrapped around her, and the knowledge that he wasn’t lying- Y/N felt safe.


	12. Chapter 12

If any fairy, specialist or resident of Alfea had looked out of their window in the early hours of the morning and had found themselves looking towards the courtyard, then they may have done a double take at the couple sitting there. The news of Y/N L/N’s apparent return from the dead and subsequent rejection of her old flame had spread like wildfire through the school, so it would have been a surprise at the very least at the friendly display the two exes were currently displaying. 

Despite the sun’s rays barely being up, Y/N and Saul were already awake and breaking their fast. Y/N had her legs stretched out into Saul’s lap, the latter buttering toast for the two of them to share.   
Having spent much of the early hour chatting about everything and nothing, the two had now lapsed into a comfortable silence. They sat and ate in the quiet, Saul reaching over every now and then to gently squeeze Y/N’s leg when she stretched. 

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the courtyard filled with the bright orange glow that came with the early hour and from her position on the bench, Y/N’s face alit with the sun’s rays. As he turned to say something, Saul caught sight of the way her eyes shone in the light and how her hair was glistening, prompting his hand to stop on its way to deliver toast to his mouth. He remained still, drinking in her image like a dying man, causing her cheeks to redden slightly.

“Stop staring at me.” She said softly, but smiling all the same. All the harshness had gone from her voice since the previous night when he had held her in his arms, and for Saul seeing the woman smile at him made him weak at the knees. 

“I can’t help it.” He almost whispered. “I haven’t had a chance to admire you in so long.” 

“Saul.” Y/N replied, a warning tone in her words and her smile fading slightly. 

“Sorry. Sorry.” He said quickly, as she withdrew her legs from his lap and folded them under herself. “I forgot.” 

Only too happy for Y/N to begin speaking to him again, he had agreed enthusiastically to her terms that they take everything slowly. Although after they had parted ways the night before, they had both slept fitfully and had almost simultaneously messaged the other in the pre-dawn hours to suggest a meet up.   
So there they were, sipping coffee and snacking before the rest of the world woke up and intruded upon the space they had created for themselves. 

To Saul’s relief, Y/N didn’t press the issue and smiled softly again at him. His heart practically skipped a beat. Every time she moved, he was almost convinced that she would start to disintegrate, to fade away from him as she had done so many years before. But now, Saul was determined to keep himself by her side. To protect and shield her from any dangers or ugliness that the world had to offer. 

A few more minutes passed in silence until Y/N nudged him with her foot. “I never really thanked you last night.” She began. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that, but I’m glad that you were there…If that makes sense…So thank you.” 

“You don’t need to apologise love. And I’m glad that I could help.” 

“Still. It shouldn’t have happened. I should have had everything under control.” 

Saul reached out and gently squeezed Y/N’s hand, marvelling at the warmth of her skin against his. “You have had a terrible go of it for the past God knows how long- you need to cut yourself a little slack to readjust.” 

Y/N shook her head sadly. “It wasn’t that.” At Saul’s questioning look, she sighed deeply before squeezing his hand once more and releasing the grip. “It was Bloom. What she said.” 

“About me?” 

“No. About me.” Y/N sighed again when Saul continued to frown in confusion. “She said that Farah did some kind of spell with her- that’s what led you guys to me…She said that we’re related…She’s sixteen Saul.” 

Saul started to shrug before his eyes widened when he put two and two together. He turned to Y/N in shock. “You don’t think?” 

“That she’s my long lost sister? I’m starting to.” 

Instinctively at the pain he heard in the ice fairy’s voice, Saul moved closer to her, allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder. “Love, I don’t want you to-“ 

“Get my hopes up?” Y/N sighed, nuzzling deeper into the crook of Saul’s neck. Inhaling his leathery scent, she focused on counting her breaths, calming herself and calling off the ice that had sprung under her skin ready to attack. 

“The odds of her being your sister…” 

“She’s sixteen- that’s how many years it’s been since the baby was abducted. She also managed to connect to me inside of Luna’s prison world, something that even you and Farah couldn’t do.” 

“Well, that’s true.” Saul inclined his head, thinking for a moment. 

“And there’s the glaringly obvious.” Y/N continued dryly. 

“Being?” 

“Our eyes are the same- dad’s eyes. And her nose, that’s all mum.” 

Saul murmured in agreement and squeezed Y/N’s shoulders gently. “You don’t have to tell her, you can do everything on your terms love.” 

Y/N’s eyes fluttered to a close, the calmness from being with him, from letting his heartbeat lull her into a sense of safety completely washed over her. “I have to. She’s never known her real family, and well…I’ve been alone for so long too. Don’t we deserve to have each other?” 

“Of course you do.” Saul replied, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “But you don’t have to rush into things, that’s all I’m saying.” 

“I know.” 

“Do you want me to be with you when you tell her?” Saul asked softly. 

Y/N turned her head to smile up at him. “Thank you. But I think that this is one of those things that I have to do alone.” 

The sound of boots clacking against the stone floor immediately alerted the two to company. Quickly, Y/N untangled herself from Saul’s embrace, relaxing slightly when she saw the face of her Aunt. 

“Aunt Farah, I-“ 

Farah wasted no time in taking in the scene before her, it not having escaped her notice the position the two were in upon the bench, but she didn’t comment, instead quickly sitting down opposite them. 

“You need to hide.” She spoke quickly and quietly, both her voice and her grave expression carrying the weight of her message. 

“Hide? But why, what’s going on?” Y/N asked. 

But Farah could only look at her in worry. “It’s the Queen- she’s here early. And I’m afraid that she’s here to get you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter! I hope you like it and that they're starting to be friendly again, yay! Thank you for all the feedback as well :)


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